ttempts to pass a scaled-down version of President Bush's faith-based initiative collapsed on Thursday, as legislation failed to make a floor vote in time for the looming congressional adjournment.

   The "Charity, Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act" (S. 1924) was designed as a compromise version of an earlier measure -- the Community Solutions Act -- which had passed the House of Representatives. That bill provided for expansive public aid to churches and other houses of worship seeking to obtain government grants in order to operate faith-based social programs. The measure stalled in the Senate, though, and the CARE compromise was crafted in an effort to avoid constitutional and other legal challenges, and keep the Bush agenda on track.

   Introduced by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), CARE relied mostly on tax incentives to encourage contributions to faith-based service agencies. Other parts of the bill, however, established "back door" funding through a convoluted system of state and other grants, plus the use of public money to train clergy and other religious in navigating the process of incorporating and seeking government funding.

   Concerns were also raised over whether CARE would permit religious groups to utilize taxpayer money, and engage in discriminatory practices in hiring and other matters.

   Despite constant pressure from the Bush administration and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, CARE remained a divisive and controversial proposal. Following the Labor Day recess, supporters put on a full-court press to get the bill on the Senate floor for a vote. Opponents dug in, raising questions over discrimination and state-church separation. It all came to a head this week, with Republicans and some Democrats pushing for a roll call, and other Democrats literally running out the clock and introducing a flurry of amendments.

   James Towey, head of the White House Faith-Based office, expressed frustration that the bill once again stalled.

   "A couple of senators stood in the way," he told the Washington Times newspaper. "The agenda of some of these interest groups blinds them to the needs of the poor."

   Sen. Santorum told reporters that CARE was "nothing new," and just an expansion of the 1996 welfare reform act which permits religious groups to compete for government grants with their secular counterparts.

   "They want to fight a fight that's not in this bill," Santorum said. "We do nothing on charitable choice and we do nothing on faith-based organizations."

   But critics point out that CARE would have funneled over $1.3 billion in public money to houses of worship through a system of block grants and other social service programs. It was this part of S.1924 that was a red flag for legislators like Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin. He raised concerns that religious groups would receive taxpayer money, and still ignore civil rights statutes and other anti-discrimination protections.

   "We've never had a hearing (on S.1924) before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin added. "The object here was not to kill the bill. I'm sure we'll pick it up again at the first of the year. That's the only realistic timetable."

   Durbin is one of many Democrats who do not oppose the bill on First Amendment grounds, but object only to the provisions that allow religious groups to accept government funding and discriminate. Amendments would have required religious groups to maintain rigorous accounting standard, promise not to proselytize, and obey regulatory and civil rights statutes. That was too much, though, for the 18 Republican and 10 Democratic sponsors of the CARE bill who insisted that the measure be passed as is.

   Despite the set-back, the federal faith-based initiative is moving ahead, with or without congressional sanction. The Bush administration recently ordered more federal agencies to aggressively court religious groups seeking to enter the social services field, and has been conducting a round of workshops throughout the country acquainting clergy with the ins-and-outs of applying for grant money. Depending on who's counting, between $50 billion and $300 billion is available from the labyrinth of federal, state and local funding agencies.

   In addition, S. 1924 will likely be back as the new congress heads to Washington next January. Both Mr. Towey and Sen. Santorum are preparing for another fight on Capitol Hill to pass CARE, and possibly even more faith-based funding legislation. The measure may find a more receptive audience with Republicans set to control both the House and Senate.

   "We look forwarding to working with the next Congress," gushed Mr. Towey.

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